The tattooed prosecutor: From dropout to the courtroom

Orange County Deputy District Attorney Cameron Talley, 52, has been a member of the elite homicide prosecution team for the past seven years. The tattooed cancer survivor, who sometimes smokes two packs of Marlboro Lights a day, is transferring to the major fraud division. He is shown with his sonic blue 1950s Fender Stratocaster Relic.MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Cameron Talley's dad was a Baptist preacher and his brother was a public defender.

He is a cancer survivor who sometimes smokes two packs of Marlboro Lights a day. He dropped out of high school because of attention deficit disorder, yet returned to college in his 20s and graduated from UC San Diego magna cum laude. He once was a promising amateur boxer who became a horse racing stable hand and occasionally slept in tack rooms when he had no other place to sleep.

He has been through two bankruptcies and two divorces. And he has more tattoos than most circus performers.

So he is not the first guy you would think would become a successful prosecutor who is very good at what he does: sending bad guys to prison.

But for the past seven years, Talley, a tall, thin man with a shaved head and pronounced ears, has been a member of the Orange County District Attorney's homicide prosecution team. It's where the best trial lawyers are found, where the pressure to win convictions is the most intense and where the stakes are the highest for those accused.

Now, during an era when most trial prosecutors cling to the homicide team until they are promoted to management, Talley has asked for and received a transfer – to the major fraud unit. His new assignment begins this month. He will be replaced on the homicide team by veteran prosecutor Jim Mendelson, a former Marine Corps fighter pilot.

"It's time to move on, amigo," his common greeting to those he knows. "Life is a cornucopia, and there is so much to do," Talley said. "I want to suck the marrow out of the bones of life, as Thoreau said. This one is done; it's checked off. It's time for the next chapter."

So ends the homicide trial career of one of the most colorful prosecutors in Orange County, a lawyer who by his own admission shoots from the hip, is a little bit disorganized and is technologically challenged.

'COLUMBO' CHARMER

While other top prosecutors long ago went to PowerPoint presentations for opening statements and closing arguments, Talley is known for using poster boards with crime scene photos that he ceremoniously pulls out of stacks on the floor and hoists onto easels. Some colleagues say this is part of his Columbo-like charm that the jurors so love.

Former prosecutor Dave Brent, who was Talley's supervisor for years, called him "one of the most intellectually brilliant yet still down-to-earth people" he's ever known.

"Cameron has the gift of connecting with a jury on a very basic level," Brent said. "Many of his cases were quite difficult, yet Cameron would win these cases by sheer force of will."

Talley also gets high marks for his sympathetic treatment of all people in the justice system, especially the victims, said fellow homicide prosecutor Larry Yellin. "He cares deeply about his cases, and he cares deeply about his victims," Yellin said.

"Cameron encouraged me and supported me through this difficult time of my life," she said. "He fought hard and succeeded."

Defense attorney George Peters, who battled Talley during two death penalty trials in the Home Depot case, said Talley is extremely effective in trial because of his unusual upbringing and nontraditional lifestyle as a young adult.

Orange County Deputy District Attorney Cameron Talley, 52, has been a member of the elite homicide prosecution team for the past seven years. The tattooed cancer survivor, who sometimes smokes two packs of Marlboro Lights a day, is transferring to the major fraud division. He is shown with his sonic blue 1950s Fender Stratocaster Relic. MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Orange County Deputy District Attorney Cameron Talley, shows off his tattooed arm. The designs include a horseshoe, a Phoenix, and a lion depicting the biblical story of Daniel and the Lion. Talley will be transferring to the major fraud division after seven years with the DA's office. MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Cameron Talley, 52, has been a member of the Orange County district attorney's elite homicide prosecution team for seven years. He took up skateboarding when his children were young so he could tag along. He also has an arm full of tattoos. "I've always been an artist and I always liked tattoos," he said. MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Cameron Talley, 52, has been a member of the Orange County district attorney's elite homicide prosecution team. His dad was a Baptist preacher; his brother was a public defender. He is a cancer survivor who sometimes smokes two packs of Marlboro Lights a day. MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
During opening statements in the death penalty murder trial of Jason Russell Richardson on April 12, 2010, Cameron J. Talley from the Orange County District Attorney's Office holds up a sock that the prosecution asserted was used to hold excess ammunition for the Home Depot robbery that led to the slaying of store manager Tom Egan in 2007. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Cameron Talley points to the defendant, Stephenson Choi Kim, during opening statements in the death penalty trial on Jan. 31, 2011. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Orange County Deputy District Attorney Cameron Talley, 52, practices his skateboard maneuvers in Orange. After seven years with the District Attorney's Office, he is transferring to the major fraud division. He recently prosecuted the case against Jason Russell Richardson who was convicted of murdering Home Depot store manager Tom Egan in 2007. MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Orange County Deputy DA Cameron Talley, 52, takes a spill while practicing skateboard maneuvers in Orange. MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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